Disclaimer: Nobuhiro Watsuki is the owner of Rurouni Kenshin and all of its characters.
A/N: Oh my goodness...it's been MONTHS since I've updated...I'm so sorry to you all who've been waiting! It's a really short chapter, but enjoy!
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As One
Chapter 6: The Learning
"Kaoru-dono? Kaoru-dono!"
Kenshin poked his head into several of the rooms throughout their house-like hotel. Kaoru had been absent since this morning after a hasty breakfast.
"Kaoru-dono!"
"Ken-nii!"
Coming around the corner, Ayame came running with her stubby little legs, flailing her arms and latching onto his pants as he smiled down at her.
"How are you today, Ayame?"
"Good! What is Ken-nii doing?"
"Sessha is looking for Kaoru-dono. Have you-"
"Aha! Got you Suzume-chan!!"
Kenshin looked around and saw her run through the front gate, hugging a squealing Suzume from behind and picking her up so her little feet flapped in empty air.
"Kaoru-nee, higher! Higher!"
Kaoru gave the little girl a spin and set her back down on the ground, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist as the sun's rays blazed down on her exposed shoulders, cautiously beginning to redden from a burn.
She looked up and turned, only to see a benign-looking Kenshin smiling at her with a misty aura of kindness floating around his violet eyes. She hid her startled expression with a grin and walked over to where she could sit under the shade of a nearby tree.
"Kenshin! Come sit and talk with me."
He nodded and sat down next to her, watching the two girls run off on their own to entertain themselves with another game.
"What have you been doing all morning, Kaoru-dono?"
She smiled at him sheepishly and began to twiddle her thumbs in a guilty manner.
"I promised the girls I'd play with them today. Sorry I ran off so rapidly after breakfast."
"It's alright. I admire how you can get along with everyone so well."
Kaoru looked at him with a pair of curious eyes, questioning him.
"Don't YOU too, Kenshin? In true honesty, you must be one of the nicest people I've ever-"
She suddenly paused in mid-sentenced and realized exactly what it was she trying to say. Kenshin himself was looking at her with a slightly surprised look on his face, and already she had gone too far into the sentence to simply stop.
"-ever met." She awkwardly finished.
She found herself lowering her eyes in embarrassment, and saw his hand laying in the grass approach hers cautiously. He, too, was looking down at her hand, and his fingertips were raised just slightly so they could touch her pearly white fingers. Amidst the action, he suddenly stopped, and he hastily took his hand away and stood up, brushing himself off of dust and blushing brightly from one corner of his face to the other. While failing miserably, he seemed to act as though nothing had happened and he lowered his hand to help her up. She accepted it graciously and she was helped to her feet.
"Tae-dono will scold me severely if I forget to inform you. Rehearsal will start in ten minutes, and so she wishes that we be punctual."
Kaoru chuckled quietly and sighed, relaxing for a moment with her hand still in his. She felt a slight tug and she looked up at his urging figure.
"Might I escort you to the stage?"
She nodded and they walked to the main theatre companionably with held hands.
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By the time rehearsals ended, the sun was already beginning to stain the skies a shade of salmon pink. Kaoru and Misao took turns cleansing themselves in the shower, removing drop of sweat from their long dancing hours.
"Something smells good...!"
Misao, feeling refreshed, skipped into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. Kaoru stepped in after her, draping a towel around her shoulders and clothed in a comfortable pair of pajamas.
"Oh man, I'm so hungr-Kenshin?"
Misao looked up from gulping down a can of sports drink, only to see a smiling Kenshin working at the kitchen counter, chopping a head of cabbage. He wore a pink apron tied around the back of his neck, and it had a design of rabbits and carrots all across the front. Had he been wearing a handkerchief around his head, he would have looked no less then a housemaid...or rather, perhaps a house manly-maid. No wonder Misao nearly spurted out her mouthful of juice.
"HIMURA! WHAT ARE YOU-"
Kaoru clapped a hand over the girl's mouth and smiled apologetically.
"Cooking, Kenshin?"
He waved a ladle at them with a genuine smile.
"Hai, dinner will be ready shortly."
Kaoru shoved Misao out the kitchen, and she happily went skipping to where Aoshi was sitting, immobilized in front of the TV.
"Wow Kenshin, I never would have guessed..."
"Oro?"
"You have so many talents...out of which include cooking...?"
He nodded in a friendly manner.
"My old shishou was never a chef. I learned to cook in order to spare ourselves the torture of eating burnt rice and soggy carrots."
Kaoru hid a look of disgust with a sympathetic look on her face. She was starting to get curious as to who his shishou was.
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Way early in the morning, Kaoru found her eyes wide open, as though two small twigs were prying them wide so that her eyelids won't budge. Sighing, she sat up in her futon and walked out the door, tip toeing down the hallway. She passed by the room where Kenshin was sleeping, and was suddenly tempted to open it, maybe just to take a TINY peek to see his cute, sleeping face.
But no. She restrained the thought and kept walking to where the stage was.
Backstage, she found a collection of props lined up neatly in a row for convenient retrieving. Among them, she found a katana, not once touched by human flesh to draw blood. It was a sword passed down from the founders of their theater group years and years past. Picking it up gingerly, she fondled with it with her hands and drew it from its sheath.
Stepping onto center stage, her blood began to dance, enticing her to move. Unable to resist, she did, and smooth patterns of attacks came streaming from her memory. She had also been trained as a kendoist at the age of thirteen, while her father was still alive. Even now, she could remember his consoling voice to grip the sword correctly, or else she'll get her hands chopped off. Chuckling to herself, she spun in a flow of action, one after another.
(Note: Kendo is a Japanese sport that utilizes 2 swords: a wooden form of a katana, and a sword made of bamboo. It still in action today, and is enjoyed worldwide.)
Her imaginary train of melodious music was suddenly cut off as she felt another presence behind her. Frightened, she pivoted on her heel abruptly, when suddenly she was enveloped in a quick, yet soft and gentle embrace. Her mouth was silenced as her face was buried into a masculine shoulder, and the arms did not squeeze her so tightly, but just at a right tenderness. Appalled, she drew back slowly, only to see Kenshin press a finger to her lips.
"You mustn't yell, Kaoru-dono, it's just me."
Not knowing really what to do, she nodded, and he pulled away shyly.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't realize someone else practiced here...especially at this hour."
Looking guilty, Kaoru apologized.
"Oh, do you practice here? Every morning? At...4 AM?"
Embarrassed, he nodded.
"Actually, I wasn't planning to practice tonight."
"Oh?"
Smiling, he motioned towards the door leading out to the street.
"If you'd like to accompany me, I can show you."
Feeling excited, she followed him out into the outside air.
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They were down at the beach, settling themselves on the rocks, lined in the sand. The stares and the moon were still out, and the ocean waves overlapping over one another were the only sounds that created the atmosphere for the morning euphoria.
And as the two of them gazed up at the sky, Kaoru's eyes caught a glimpse of a single whisk of light go flying across the stretch of sky before them. And in a blink of an eye, it was gone.
"Kenshin, was that-"
"A comet?"
He grinned and nodded like a little boy, thrilled with things he'd never seen.
"I heard that it was going to pass by this area yesterday. Had you not woken up, I was actually thinking of waking you so you could see it."
Kaoru broke into smiles herself, and she leaned back on the rock behind her. In minutes, the lovely comfort of Mother Nature took her into its embrace, and she fell fast asleep-an angel with folded wings.
Kenshin gazed down at her sleeping face, an emotion of warmth beginning to brew in the depths of his heart. As to not wake her, he reached down and lifted her in his arms, and together they went trudging back to the house.
Behind them, the morning star winked good morning as the sun slowly began to rise.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
I don't know if anyone's reading this fic anymore, but in any case, I hope you enjoyed what I have so far!
A/N: Oh my goodness...it's been MONTHS since I've updated...I'm so sorry to you all who've been waiting! It's a really short chapter, but enjoy!
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
As One
Chapter 6: The Learning
"Kaoru-dono? Kaoru-dono!"
Kenshin poked his head into several of the rooms throughout their house-like hotel. Kaoru had been absent since this morning after a hasty breakfast.
"Kaoru-dono!"
"Ken-nii!"
Coming around the corner, Ayame came running with her stubby little legs, flailing her arms and latching onto his pants as he smiled down at her.
"How are you today, Ayame?"
"Good! What is Ken-nii doing?"
"Sessha is looking for Kaoru-dono. Have you-"
"Aha! Got you Suzume-chan!!"
Kenshin looked around and saw her run through the front gate, hugging a squealing Suzume from behind and picking her up so her little feet flapped in empty air.
"Kaoru-nee, higher! Higher!"
Kaoru gave the little girl a spin and set her back down on the ground, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist as the sun's rays blazed down on her exposed shoulders, cautiously beginning to redden from a burn.
She looked up and turned, only to see a benign-looking Kenshin smiling at her with a misty aura of kindness floating around his violet eyes. She hid her startled expression with a grin and walked over to where she could sit under the shade of a nearby tree.
"Kenshin! Come sit and talk with me."
He nodded and sat down next to her, watching the two girls run off on their own to entertain themselves with another game.
"What have you been doing all morning, Kaoru-dono?"
She smiled at him sheepishly and began to twiddle her thumbs in a guilty manner.
"I promised the girls I'd play with them today. Sorry I ran off so rapidly after breakfast."
"It's alright. I admire how you can get along with everyone so well."
Kaoru looked at him with a pair of curious eyes, questioning him.
"Don't YOU too, Kenshin? In true honesty, you must be one of the nicest people I've ever-"
She suddenly paused in mid-sentenced and realized exactly what it was she trying to say. Kenshin himself was looking at her with a slightly surprised look on his face, and already she had gone too far into the sentence to simply stop.
"-ever met." She awkwardly finished.
She found herself lowering her eyes in embarrassment, and saw his hand laying in the grass approach hers cautiously. He, too, was looking down at her hand, and his fingertips were raised just slightly so they could touch her pearly white fingers. Amidst the action, he suddenly stopped, and he hastily took his hand away and stood up, brushing himself off of dust and blushing brightly from one corner of his face to the other. While failing miserably, he seemed to act as though nothing had happened and he lowered his hand to help her up. She accepted it graciously and she was helped to her feet.
"Tae-dono will scold me severely if I forget to inform you. Rehearsal will start in ten minutes, and so she wishes that we be punctual."
Kaoru chuckled quietly and sighed, relaxing for a moment with her hand still in his. She felt a slight tug and she looked up at his urging figure.
"Might I escort you to the stage?"
She nodded and they walked to the main theatre companionably with held hands.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
By the time rehearsals ended, the sun was already beginning to stain the skies a shade of salmon pink. Kaoru and Misao took turns cleansing themselves in the shower, removing drop of sweat from their long dancing hours.
"Something smells good...!"
Misao, feeling refreshed, skipped into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. Kaoru stepped in after her, draping a towel around her shoulders and clothed in a comfortable pair of pajamas.
"Oh man, I'm so hungr-Kenshin?"
Misao looked up from gulping down a can of sports drink, only to see a smiling Kenshin working at the kitchen counter, chopping a head of cabbage. He wore a pink apron tied around the back of his neck, and it had a design of rabbits and carrots all across the front. Had he been wearing a handkerchief around his head, he would have looked no less then a housemaid...or rather, perhaps a house manly-maid. No wonder Misao nearly spurted out her mouthful of juice.
"HIMURA! WHAT ARE YOU-"
Kaoru clapped a hand over the girl's mouth and smiled apologetically.
"Cooking, Kenshin?"
He waved a ladle at them with a genuine smile.
"Hai, dinner will be ready shortly."
Kaoru shoved Misao out the kitchen, and she happily went skipping to where Aoshi was sitting, immobilized in front of the TV.
"Wow Kenshin, I never would have guessed..."
"Oro?"
"You have so many talents...out of which include cooking...?"
He nodded in a friendly manner.
"My old shishou was never a chef. I learned to cook in order to spare ourselves the torture of eating burnt rice and soggy carrots."
Kaoru hid a look of disgust with a sympathetic look on her face. She was starting to get curious as to who his shishou was.
*-.,.*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
Way early in the morning, Kaoru found her eyes wide open, as though two small twigs were prying them wide so that her eyelids won't budge. Sighing, she sat up in her futon and walked out the door, tip toeing down the hallway. She passed by the room where Kenshin was sleeping, and was suddenly tempted to open it, maybe just to take a TINY peek to see his cute, sleeping face.
But no. She restrained the thought and kept walking to where the stage was.
Backstage, she found a collection of props lined up neatly in a row for convenient retrieving. Among them, she found a katana, not once touched by human flesh to draw blood. It was a sword passed down from the founders of their theater group years and years past. Picking it up gingerly, she fondled with it with her hands and drew it from its sheath.
Stepping onto center stage, her blood began to dance, enticing her to move. Unable to resist, she did, and smooth patterns of attacks came streaming from her memory. She had also been trained as a kendoist at the age of thirteen, while her father was still alive. Even now, she could remember his consoling voice to grip the sword correctly, or else she'll get her hands chopped off. Chuckling to herself, she spun in a flow of action, one after another.
(Note: Kendo is a Japanese sport that utilizes 2 swords: a wooden form of a katana, and a sword made of bamboo. It still in action today, and is enjoyed worldwide.)
Her imaginary train of melodious music was suddenly cut off as she felt another presence behind her. Frightened, she pivoted on her heel abruptly, when suddenly she was enveloped in a quick, yet soft and gentle embrace. Her mouth was silenced as her face was buried into a masculine shoulder, and the arms did not squeeze her so tightly, but just at a right tenderness. Appalled, she drew back slowly, only to see Kenshin press a finger to her lips.
"You mustn't yell, Kaoru-dono, it's just me."
Not knowing really what to do, she nodded, and he pulled away shyly.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't realize someone else practiced here...especially at this hour."
Looking guilty, Kaoru apologized.
"Oh, do you practice here? Every morning? At...4 AM?"
Embarrassed, he nodded.
"Actually, I wasn't planning to practice tonight."
"Oh?"
Smiling, he motioned towards the door leading out to the street.
"If you'd like to accompany me, I can show you."
Feeling excited, she followed him out into the outside air.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
They were down at the beach, settling themselves on the rocks, lined in the sand. The stares and the moon were still out, and the ocean waves overlapping over one another were the only sounds that created the atmosphere for the morning euphoria.
And as the two of them gazed up at the sky, Kaoru's eyes caught a glimpse of a single whisk of light go flying across the stretch of sky before them. And in a blink of an eye, it was gone.
"Kenshin, was that-"
"A comet?"
He grinned and nodded like a little boy, thrilled with things he'd never seen.
"I heard that it was going to pass by this area yesterday. Had you not woken up, I was actually thinking of waking you so you could see it."
Kaoru broke into smiles herself, and she leaned back on the rock behind her. In minutes, the lovely comfort of Mother Nature took her into its embrace, and she fell fast asleep-an angel with folded wings.
Kenshin gazed down at her sleeping face, an emotion of warmth beginning to brew in the depths of his heart. As to not wake her, he reached down and lifted her in his arms, and together they went trudging back to the house.
Behind them, the morning star winked good morning as the sun slowly began to rise.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
I don't know if anyone's reading this fic anymore, but in any case, I hope you enjoyed what I have so far!